Watering Your Garden
Plants need 3 things to live – sun, soil, and water.
In an ideal world, the rain would fall predictably and just when the garden needs it, but unfortunately it’s much more chaotic than that.
Whether you live in a desert or the tropics, it’s important to make sure your plants are getting the right amount of water.
This involves 2 parts – planting the right plants for your climate and soil, and using irrigation to supplement rainfall from time to time.
Desert plants don’t need much water, and they need plenty of drainage so their roots don’t rot.
Planting the Right Plants
Trying to baby plants and keep them alive when they really don’t like your climate is a lot of work. It’s definitely something you can do if you have the interest and time, but I think most of us don’t want to have to constantly toil and stress over the garden when we would prefer to enjoy it.
If you live in a low-rainfall area, plant things that thrive on little water. If you have blazing hot sun, plant things that like blazing hot sun. If you live in a subtropical zone with lots of rain, plant things that don’t get pitiful and die if they get too much water.
This is where researching your plants* before planting your garden makes your gardening life so much more enjoyable in the long run.
Even if you do have the right plants, though, there are times when the sky just refuses to rain and we need to water things ourselves.
(*Coming soon – my Master Plant List is a good starting point for this research, and includes lists of plants for wet or dry climates).
Irrigation
There are a few different ways to irrigate your garden and I’ll summarize them here. Which you use will depend on your preference (and ability to be hands-on with your watering), your heat and humidity, and your budget.
Installed irrigation systems are at the top of the list because they are the easiest and least laborious of all watering methods. They can be programmed to water at certain times and durations depending on what you need (and they work on an app on your phone as well). If you have a smaller garden space, the cost of having an irrigation system put in may be worth it to you. Because they can run super early in the morning before humans are up, the water has better ability to sink into the soil before the sun rises. Also, it can be programmed to work when you’re traveling or ill.
This Melnor sprinkler is the one I have and used the most before having an installed system.
Next up is the hose and sprinkler head. This is probably the most common irrigation people use. Sprinklers are mostly passive, though they do require you to set them and move them around manually, so you can’t just leave; there’s a time and attention commitment to this type of watering. The benefit to these is that they can cover large areas of garden from one location.
A soaker hose lets water seep into the soil slowly, minimizing both runoff and evaporation. You can get this one on Amazon.
Soaker hoses are another option. These can either be moved each time you water, or they can remain in place semi-permanently. You do still need to attach the hose and turn it on, so it’s similar to a manual sprinkler that way. The benefit to the soaker hose is that it drops water slowly directly on top of the soil at the base of the plant, so the water has time to sink in instead of run off. Additionally, evaporation of water is minimized.
Note– I’ve found the round type is much less likely to spring big leaks than the flat type.
To make this type of irrigation easier, you can attach timers to them where they connect to the water hose and automate the process some.
Drip emitters drip water slowly and gently at the base of each plant.
Drip line systems work similarly to soaker hoses, except that instead of water dripping along the entirety of a soaker hose, drip lines carry water along tubes and small drip emitters are placed at the base of each plant. Water is only dripped at the plant bases and not the spaces in between, which is helpful if your plants are not planted very close together. Timers can also be used on drip systems. I have a drip system on a timer that waters my patio pots.
Drip systems can also be installed by professional irrigation specialists.
Both soaker hoses and drip systems reduce water evaporation and waste.
Rain Barrels
If you can find a spot, setting up a rain barrel is a great way to collect free, nitrogen-rich water. This is an especially desirable option if you live in a low-rainfall climate., though I think it’s beneficial for anyone in any climate. Plants much prefer rainwater to pipe water.
In order to use it with a hose you will need a pressurizer. Otherwise you can just use your rain barrel to fill your watering can for supplemental watering, or for watering pots or raised beds. I also use rain water to make compost tea, as there is no chlorine in it to inhibit beneficial microbial growth.
This cosmos needs water. Notice the drooping leaves, buds, and flower head.
When to water
Plants will let you know they need water in 2 ways. First, they droop their leaves. When the leaves look thin and wilted, your plants need water.
Second, they will start to dry up and die. This usually happens after they’ve been wilty and nobody noticed. At this point you may be able to save the plant, but some of the leaves may drop off.
Mushrooms in your mulch is an excellent sign that your mulch is healthy, decomposing, and adding beneficial microbes to your soil and plants’ roots.
Mulch to keep the soil evenly moist
I cannot preach enough about the importance of mulch. Mulch provides a barrier that allows water to sink in but not easily evaporate out. It also insulates the soil, protecting it from both hot sun and frosty cold air, keeping the soil in a better state of homeostasis and allowing the roots to expect consistency.
Mulch also breaks down over time, adding more organic matter to the soil, and organic matter maintains moisture much better than sand or rock (clay holds moisture well, but it also becomes rock hard when dry, so organic matter evens it out).
**Make sure you use natural mulch, not rubber or anything like that. You want your mulch to break down and compost, so real wood chips (not dyed or treated with pesticides or other chemicals), pine needles, bark, dead leaves, and clean straw are all great mulch materials that will benefit your plants and soil.
Canna leaf ~ Cannas love water and don’t mind sitting in it. They can even grow in ponds.
When to stop or reduce the water
Plants can get root rot and just generally become miserable if they get too much moisture or are sitting in water around their roots. Aside from the plants that love this (and can grow in ponds), most plants like to have water move to their roots, stick around just a bit, then drain down deeper into the soil. Each plant has its own water needs that you’ll learn with experience. Most plants, though, prefer soil that remains evenly moist but not wet.
Plants that are too wet will usually show it by just generally starting to fail. They may droop, they may drop all their leaves, or they may even up and die very suddenly.
When your garden is new and you’re getting to know its water needs, use the finger test from time to time, especially if your plants look a little unhappy.
Stick your finger deep into the soil, about 4 inches, at the base of a plant and notice how wet the soil is. It should be damp but not feel soaked. If it feels wet and you didn’t just water that day, then the plant may be drowning. If you’ve been irrigating, simply reduce the water going forward. If it’s rainfall keeping the soil drenched, you may need to dig up your plants and add some drainage material (like decomposed granite) or plant them up higher so they aren’t sitting in soupy soil.
For the majority of plants, soil should be moist enough to feel, but not sopping wet, nor dry.
Be patient at first, as it takes some time and practice to get watering down to a healthy schedule and amount. But if you spend some time paying attention to your plants and noticing what they need, you can set up an irrigation system that works well and reduces your need to be actively involved.